Possession
by StormWolf10
Summary: Part of the HavenVerse. AU. It's John's turn to admit some of his fears in the aftermath of what Jimmy Stone has inflicted upon them.


**A/N: In which John admits having difficulties in admitting just who Rose is to him...**

_Possession: __The state of having, owning, or controlling something._

The little village they'd moved to was definitely quaint, John decided. The kids had been uncertain about moving away from Gallifrey, but the new house wasn't that far away at all. Still, it did mean that they'd have to get used to their new neighbours, the new village and its residents. Despite Gallifrey being near, John didn't really want to have to spend every day driving the kids there and back when they lived in a perfectly nice village.

As he'd pointed out to Alex, it was close to woodland, little lanes of chocolate-box cottages making up the majority of the village, while their own larger house was nearer the outskirts, and not as old as the other houses. Still, it was fairly old, with a wrap-around garden and space to park the car, along with plenty of spaces for the younger kids to hide, and John was almost certain that the kids would settle in given time.

It took a while for all the boxes to be unpacked, for the kids' toys to make it out of storage, and for the rooms to be decorated how they wanted them, but soon there was very little reason for the Smiths to hide away from the rest of the village any longer.

"Rose and I were thinking we could go to the woods today," John began loudly, watching his four children over the rim of his mug. "Get out and about. You could take your bikes."

All four children just blinked in response. It was breakfast time, they were half-asleep, and- by the looks of it- hadn't thought they'd actually be leaving the new house anytime soon.

"But… But there'll be people!" Felix protested, brow furrowing as his five year old mind was unable to comprehend actually having to meet their new neighbours. "We'll have to talk to them!"

"Well, we're going to have to talk to them eventually anyway, Felix," Rose smiled at the boy. "We can't stay in here forever!"

"Yeah we can!" Olivia chipped in, brow furrowed stubbornly.

"Not if you guys want Christmas presents, we can't," John told his daughter calmly.

Olivia and Felix both pouted at that. Christmas was growing ever nearer, only a few weeks away, and John was right; they'd have to leave the house eventually to get the stuff for Christmas in. Reluctantly, the kids agreed to a trip to the woods.

**~StormWolf10~**

The trip itself had gone well, the kids enjoying getting out of the house and going to the woods for a few hours. The journey home, however, was a totally different story. They'd bumped into a little old lady who lived further into the village in one of the older properties, and she was immediately taken with the children, particularly Felix and Olivia.

"Oh, they _are_ sweet!" the old lady smiled as the kids finally escaped and cycled off in the direction of their new house. "You two must be so proud!"

John and Rose shared a look uncertainly then, suspicious that the woman- somewhat perplexingly- thought Rose was the children's mother. Well, she was as good as, but they hadn't actually had a chance to talk about just what she was to the children.

"We are," John agreed after a few moments, unsure of what else to say.

The old woman nodded, apparently oblivious to John's initial pause. Then, she turned her attention to Rose, whose smile was now slightly strained. John quickly realised the woman expected them to introduce themselves seeing as they'd only introduced the kids, but not themselves.

"Oh! I'm John Smith," John began, before gesturing at Rose. "And this is…" He faltered then, eyes widening slightly, before trying again. "This is… This is Rose."

Rose frowned slightly, before forcing a smile and shaking the old woman's proffered hand.

"We'd, uh, better catch up with the kids now," John said suddenly, already grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her past. "Nice talking to you."

**~StormWolf10~**

"What was all that the other day when we were coming back from the woods?" Rose asked a few nights later over a cup of tea.

John blinked, frowned, and stared at Rose.

"What was all what?" he asked in confusion.

It was late, the kids were in bed, and Rose finally felt ready to bring the topic up. Rose sighed.

"You know what, John," she responded, slightly bitterly. "You freaked out when you had to introduce us to that old lady. Just called me 'Rose'."

"Well," John replied, "that is your name."

"I know it is," Rose replied with a roll of her eyes. "But you've done it several times since then. Just introduced me as Rose." She went quiet for a few moments, before speaking again softly. "Is that all I am?"

"No!" John exclaimed quickly, setting his mug down to slip closer to Rose on the sofa and tug her in for a hug. "No, no, it's just…" He took a deep breath, started again. "It's just me, being silly I suppose."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked quietly, tone still uncertain and vulnerable.

John sighed, and scrubbed his hands over his eyes.

"I don't know," he admitted slowly. "I… I didn't know what to call you."

"You didn't know what to call me?" Rose echoed in confusion, brow furrowed.

John sighed again.

"I… It's that you're not… You're not mine, Rose."

"I'm not?" Rose responded, brow furrowing further as she attempted to hide that she was upset.

Noticing, John hastened to explain again.

"I mean, you're not my property, Rose. I don't control you, I don't own you… And everything sounded so… Possessive. And I didn't want that. Because… Because of everything you went through with Jimmy." He paused, then added quietly, "I didn't want you to think that I thought I owned you."

Rose's expression softened then, though her eyes were damp with unshed tears.

"Oh, John," she sighed softly, watching him carefully.

Then, unable to help herself, she leant forward and pressed a kiss to his lips gently.

It was by no means the first time they'd kissed; their intimacy had been growing since they'd moved into the new house, always holding hands, or giving chaste kisses, or touching in some way. They shared a bedroom of course, though at the moment slept in separate beds. After Jimmy, Rose had been hesitant at embarking on such an intimate relationship so soon after what had happened to them, and John had no desire to push her.

When they pulled apart a few seconds later, John was smiling a little shyly.

"Sorry," he murmured quietly to Rose.

"It's ok," Rose assured him with a small smile.

"You do understand though, don't you?" John asked quietly, pulling Rose close and resting his chin on her head. "Why I don't… Why I can't call you 'my' girlfriend, or partner, or whatever."

He felt Rose nod against him, and he relaxed slightly.

"I understand," she reassured him softly. There was a pause, and then she spoke again. "And thank you. I'm grateful for it."

They were found by Livvy and Felix the next morning, still curled up on the sofa together asleep.


End file.
